TONIGHT’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the Florida Panthers at BankAtlantic Center (7:30 p.m.), in their first of three games in four days. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and seventh in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 10-4-3 (23 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the Montreal Canadiens, 4-0, on Saturday at Bell Centre to end their seven-game winning streak. The Panthers enter the contest with a 11-6-3 (25 pts) record to rank second in the Eastern Conference, and have won five of their last seven games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Washington Capitals on Friday, Nov. 25, at Verizon Center (4:00 p.m.), to close out their four-game road trip.BROADCAST INFORMATION:
* TV: MSG Network
7:00 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto and Mike Keenan
7:30 p.m. – Rangers at Panthers
Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)* Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio and newyorkrangers.com
7:00 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show
7:30 p.m. – Rangers at Panthers
Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. PANTHERS:
* All-Time: 38-25-6-4 overall (19-13-4-0 at home; 19-12-2-4 on the road)
* 2011-12: Tonight is the first of four meetings this season, and the first of two at BankAtlantic Center.
* Last Season: New York was 2-2-0 overall, with a 1-1-0 mark on the road. Three of their four meetings resulted in a shutout, including two for the Rangers. New York’s power play tallied two goals in nine attempts (22.2%) in the season series. Brandon Prust and Derek Stepan each notched a team-high, two goals, while Henrik Lundqvist posted a record of 2-1-0 with a 1.35 goals against average, a .949 save percentage and two shutouts in three appearances.
* The Rangers have won five of their last seven games against the Panthers, having out-scored Florida 17-10 over the span
* New York is tied for ninth with a 5-3-2 (12 pts) record on the road; Florida is tied for 20th with a 4-2-3 (11 pts) mark at home
* The Rangers have posted a 3-0-0 record vs. Southeast Division opponents; the Panthers are 4-2-0 vs. the Atlantic Division
* Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 12-6-1 record with a 1.80 GAA and five shutouts in 19 career regular season games vs. Florida; Martin Biron is 7-12-1-0 with a 2.68 GAA in 21 career regular season games vs. the Panthers
* Brad Richards leads the Rangers with 14 goals, 26 assists and 40 points in 46 career regular season games vs. Florida; Erik Christensen has tallied 10 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 16 career regular season contests vs. the Panthers
* New York lists one former Panther on their roster: Steve Eminger (2008-09)
* Florida lists one former Ranger on their roster: Mikael Samuelsson (2001-02 – 2002-03)SPECIAL TEAMS:
* Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in three power play opportunities (6:00) on Saturday at Montreal. New York is tied for 28th overall (9-70, 12.9%) and ranks 29th on the road (3-36, 8.3%). The Rangers are 1-6 (5:15) in five-on-three situations (last – 11/15 at NYI), and 0-4 (3:46) when four-on-three (last – 11/3 vs. ANA). Shorthanded goals allowed (0).
* Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts surrendered two goals to the Canadiens in six shorthanded situations (9:49) on Saturday at Montreal. New York ranks 10th overall (61-71, 85.9%) and 14th on the road (42-50, 84.0%). The Rangers are 2-3 (1:16) in three-on-five situations (last – 11/05 vs. MTL), and 0-1 (1:17) when three-on-four (last – 10/7 at LAK). Shorthanded goals for (1): 10/20 at CGY (Prust).
* Four-on-Four: New York did not skate in a four-on-four situation on Saturday at Montreal. The Rangers are plus-three in 25 four-on-four situations (43:42), and even in one three-on-three situation (0:01). Four-on-four goals for (3): 10/18 at VAN (Gaborik); 10/20 at CGY (McDonagh); 10/27 vs. TOR (Girardi). Four-on-four goals allowed (0).

STREAK RECAP:
* The Rangers posted a seven-game winning streak from Oct. 31 vs. San Jose to Nov. 15 at Long Island
* It was the Blueshirts’ first seven-game winning streak since the 2009-10 season (Oct. 3 – Oct. 17). The franchise record longest winning streak is 10 games, established in 1972-73 (Jan. 19 – Feb. 10).
* New York out-scored their opponents, 27-11, during the streak
* The Rangers’ penalty kill was 18 of 20 (90.0%) in the seven games
* The Blueshirts registered at least one point in 11 of 13 games from Oct. 18 at Vancouver to Nov. 15 at Long Island (10-2-1 over the span), including in eight consecutive games beginning on Oct. 29 vs. Ottawa (7-0-1 over the span). The last time New York registered an eight-game point streak was when they tallied at least one point in 13 consecutive games from Feb. 9, 2008 to Mar. 10, 2008.
* The Rangers tallied the game’s first goal in six of the seven games
* In 425:00 of game action, the Rangers led for 250:28 (58.9%) and were tied for 173:50 (40.9%). New York only trailed for 0:42 (0.2%) during the streak.
* Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Biron posted a combined 7-0-0 record, along with a 1.55 GAA, a .946 Sv% and one shutout during the streak. Lundqvist was 5-0-0 with a 1.77 GAA and a .941 Sv%, while Biron was 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA, a .959 Sv% and one shutout over the span.
* Ryan Callahan (five goals, three assists) and Derek Stepan (three goals, five assists) tied for the team lead with eight points apiece during the seven-game winning streak. Callahan’s five goals were also a team high during the stretch.
* Brandon Dubinsky (one goal, six assists) and Artem Anisimov (one goal, six assists) tied for the team-high with six assists each, while Marian Gaborik tallied seven points (four goals, three assists) during the streak.

BACK-TO-BACKS
The Rangers concluded their second of 14 back-to-back sets this season with a 3-0 win vs. Winnipeg on Nov. 6 at Madison Square Garden. New York has posted a record of 1-0-1 (1-0-0 at home, 0-0-1 on the road) in the first game of the set, and are 1-0-1 (1-0-0 at home, 0-0-1 on the road) in the second game. Since 2009-10, New York is 22-8-3 in the back-end of back-to-back sets, including a 10-3-1 mark at MSG and 12-5-2 on the road over the span. The Rangers’ next back-to-back set begins on Nov. 25 at Washington and concludes on Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia.

JOINING THE RUSH
New York defensemen have accounted for 21.7% of the team’s scoring, fifth-best in the league, tallying a combined 10 goals through 16 games to begin the season, ranking eighth in the NHL. Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh are tied for first among Rangers defensemen and 14th among NHL blueliners with three goals.

COUNTDOWN TO 2,500 WINS
The Rangers are currently six wins shy of 2,500 wins, having won 2,494 games all-time in franchise history.
QUICK HITS:
* The Rangers currently have the fewest regulation losses (four) in the NHL
* The Blueshirts lead the league in fewest total goals allowed (36) and rank third in goals against average (2.12)
* Henrik Lundqvist is 5-0-0 with a 1.77 GAA and a .941 Sv% in his last five games
* Marian Gaborik has tallied 11 points (five goals, six assists) in the last 10 games
* Ryan Callahan has tallied nine points (six goals, three assists) in the last nine games, including four points (two goals, two assists) in the last three contests
* Derek Stepan has recorded nine points (three goals, six assists) and a plus-seven rating in the last nine games
* Artem Anisimov has tallied six assists and a plus-four rating in the last six games
* Brad Richards has recorded eight points (five goals, three assists) in the last nine games
* Brandon Dubinsky has tallied seven points (one goal, six assists) in the last eight games, including four points (one goal, three assists) in the last three contests
* Dan Girardi has recorded seven points (three goals, four assists) in the last 11 games
* Ryan McDonagh has posted a plus-eight rating in the last six games

The schedule is sure leaving a lot to be desired. That being said,Thanks to Carp for making this blog a must read,of course the cast of characters gives it it’s personality. My family wishes all of you guys (&gals) a very Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy a day of rest Carp and make a date with Mr. Titleist! LGR!!

Manny – hit to the head, apparently. The AHL have their own Shanahammer to swing at high hitting offenders, havent seen the video of it though so cant say if he deserved it, but the guy he hit has missed the last 2 games…

I can’t remember what sport it was, but Boston fans always go crazy about making sure their players are in all star games. Oh yeah now I remember it that SS from Boston, they wrote his name and Jeter didn’t make the All-Stars when clearly Jeter was the better player. Whatever with the All-Star stuff. These teams or fans start a campaign to get people to write in or whatever so unless someone wants to start that, it probably won’t happen.

All-Star contest are stupid. The fan voting only makes them MORE stupid. Baseball is easily the most egregious example of under-performing stars being voted in over more deserve but lesser known players. But all-in-all the contests are meaningless and those voted into the contest are there for no other reason, usually, than they are well known.

Manny,
according Blue Seat Blogs, Connecticut Whale center Kris Newbury has been suspended for four (4) games as a consequence of an illegal check to the head of an opponent in a game vs. Bridgeport on Nov. 18.

If potential affect on Rangers is your concern – the Rangers don’t need another call up right now, but it is unlikely that Newbury will be called up until his suspension is over. Players have been moved around leagues and that has delayed suspensions, but I don’t expect that to be the case this time around.

Buff you should switch Doctors. I can’t imagine how a doctor that isn’t distracted by sports could be any good at her job!

I was recently having an eco-cardiagram and my doctor said, in his awesome aussie accent, “don’t take my silence as a bad sign. I am deeply focused.” Then he laughed a few minutes later and I looked over and he was TEXTING SOMEONE. Nice Concentration there, Doc.

Hey Latona. Glad to see your slave-driving employer let you out early to consort with the likes of us. What are you going to do with all your spare time?

Hey Carp – who is writing the game review for tomorrow? I am not offering because I won’t see the game I just find it hard to believe that with the Turkey on the horizon that you would put in the hours tonight. You have possibly earned the right to take the time off.

the next few games will see if the rangers are for real or not. These teams, Panthers, flyers, capitols and Penguins are very good teams. It will be interesting to see how the rangers stack up to these teams. Will the rangers show they are a top 5 team in the eastern conference or are the rangers going to be what they have been, mediocre and fighting for the eight spot at the end of the year.

Buff, I wouldn’t want a Rangers fan for a doctor based on the reaction I’ve seen from Rangers fans after a loss or during a bad streak (or for that matter after giving up a goal). You’d have to be treated after a win, during a winning streak. Or else.

And you weren’t ignored. I answered your questions later. I was a half an hour or more behind because of the number of questions. Crazy.

Manny/Mannu, it’s all me reviewing/blogging this weekend and for the foreseeable future. No sleep til Brooklyn.

Oh, hey Latona. I was just trying to get you the recognition you deserve for your usually brilliant analysis. Also you didn’t get to put your heart & soul into our team review and I thought you might want this opportunity to prove your worth.

What a nice gesture, Manny. It is greatly appreciated. However, I won’t even be seeing the game tonight. Clan Latona parts ways for the feast of Thanksgiving, and so the Clan Cousins get together and do something. This year, we’re going to see the Muppet movie!

Really enjoyed the chat yesterday Carp looking forward to the next one. I liked it even more than the one Zipay does! You are the BEST!!! Tony great photo, is that the whole “Tony clan” ? Great taste in apparell Sean almighty would definitely approve

It’s an invasion of the Tonys!! I’m in Phoenix TFAZ-set a plate for me,so long as you will be making pasta.I’ll bring the turkey even though I don’t like turkey.Last time the Rangers played Fla right before Thanksgiving,they won using the Bettman gimick of having a skills competition to decide a team game.Let’s hope tonight will be decided in 60…in our favor,of course. LGR!

I’ll take the brunette and the redhead on the right…..oh, sorry,I was channeling ORR. I work for the Az Republic on the maintenance end-all over the valley.My wife and I will probably StubHub the Yotes game on the 17th-see you there??

Another, say Hi to Mark Faller the sports editor if you ever get the chance. I wonder if I ran across you when I was in there during Super Bowl week in 2008, after my laptop crashed as soon as I arrived in Phoenix for SB week.

What I’ve never liked about the Hockey all star games is the uniforms specially made for this affair. They’re usually odd looking and it’s hard to pick out the right guys. Why not just left them wear their own home and road games and so what if numbers coincide. the fans know who they are anyhow, and it’s more realistic that
that way. Baseball does it and it
works fine.